Design/Spring Semester/Jewelry Design

The objectives of the course are to give the student an historical and contemporary knowledge of the fundamentals of jewelry making, to develop pratical skills from the initial sketch to the finished project and to support personal creativity.
Emphasis will be placed in the understanding of the trends and requirements of the existing jewelry industry and to contacts with professional designers based in Milan.

Program Components

Module 1: Jewelry Materials
Contact Hours: 30

An introduction to the numerous materials used in jewelry making. A variety of gem species and their properties will be explored, as will the characteristics of various metals and their malleability, from the most precious to the most basic. Emphasis will be placed on the materials used to create fashion jewelry, including plastic, resin, wood, and glass. Examples of historical classic jewelry will be examined together with creative contemporary ones. This component may include visits to jewelry design studios and to fashion showrooms based in Milan.
Module 2: Jewelry Design
Contact Hours: 60

An exploration of the different stages of jewelry design. Students will start by studying the initial stages of the process, considering the objects in a three-dimensional context. Then, they will begin to explore different drawing methods using pen and ink, pastels, etc. The objective is to develop the students’ design skills and their ability to articulate and visualize their ideas. That ability will help them produce designs that can be easily transformed into the final product.
At the end of this component, students will be prepared to participate in the existing industry and will understand correct jewelry marketing techniques.
Contacts with professionals will help students to comprehend the different directions their work may take.

Module 3: Jewelry Making
Contact Hours: 60

An introduction to the fundamentals of jewelry making. Students will have direct experience in a workshop context. The basic processes of metalworking will be explored: sawing, soldering, joining materials, filing, finishing. Further investigation may focus on more complex techniques like forging, chasing, and repoussé. Students will also learn the basics of the casting process, including wax and mould making. They will be encouraged to experiment with their own creative solutions by working on individual small-scale projects.

Module 4: Stone Setting and Enameling
Contact Hours: 30

Students will be introduced to a wide range of stone settings. Not only is an understanding of the correct type of setting for a particular stone important for the practical purpose of securing it to the metal, but also for enhancing the design of the whole object. Students will also explore the several methods of enameling and its application to jewelry. Encouraging students to experiment with new combinations of techniques and materials is one of the main objectives of this component.

The 5th module of the semester program is the language course to be chosen, according to the admission requirement, between Italian 101 or Italian 102.

ITALIAN 101 LANGUAGE COURSE
Beginner/Elementary Level Course program

Objectives

After a 45 hours Italian language course students should be able to express themselves in the present and past tense, ask and answer questions about daily life, follow a simple conversation in common situations (in a train, in a café, in a shop, etc.), describe persons and places.

Methodology

In the direct method, the grammar and texts progress in such a way that the teacher can carry out his or her didactic approach directly in Italian, certain of being understood without the aid of translation. The course proceed through mostly communication activities, with conceptual and functional elements of the language gradually introduced. The themes used in the excerpts and reading are always selected in order to support and reflect the gradual learning of the morphosyntactic forms and structures.

Grammatical points covered

The verb to be (essere), this (questo), definite articles, there is and there are (c’è, ci sono)
The verb to have (avere), plural nouns and adjectives, the indefinite article
Regular present tense
Irregular present tense
Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives, comparative, buono, bello, invariable plurals
Simple prepositions
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
Interrogative, ci, superlatives, adverbs of quantity
Reflexive verbs in the present, progressive form
Conversation activities

Situations:
a) Greetings, introductions and identifying oneself
b) Description of common objects and places
c) Explanation of one’s profession, scholastic status, names of the main professions and trades
d) Dialogues and vocabulary relating to cafés and restaurants
e) Description of people and physical features
f) Dialogues and vocabulary relating to markets
g) Vocabulary relating to clothing
h) Street directions, describing the city
Listening comprehension, dictation, summarizing stories

ITALIAN 102 – LANGUAGE COURSE
ADMISSION REQUIREMENT: ITALIAN 101
Intermediate Level Course program

Objectives

After a 45 hours Italian language course students should be capable of using the main grammatical structures, the future tense, the imperfect tense, reflexive and passive forms. The students should be more accurate in the construction of sentences, able to use direct and indirect object pronouns, relative pronouns, impersonal forms … They are therefore able to conduct a conversation on common topics from everyday life (food, travel, sports, etc.) as well as confront more general topics, such as comparing the situation of employment, of education, of study, etc., in Italy with that of their own country.

Methodology

In the direct method, the grammar and texts progress in such a way that the teacher can carry out his or her didactic approach directly in Italian, certain of being understood without the aid of translation. The course proceed through mostly communication activities, with conceptual and functional elements of the language gradually introduced. The themes used in the excerpts and reading are always selected in order to support and reflect the gradual learning of the morphosyntactic forms and structures.

Grammatical points covered
Imperatives, irregular plurals
Simple future tense
Reflexive constructions
Relative pronouns with who (chi)
Imperfect indicative tense
Impersonal si, forms of courtesy, comparatives
Passive constructions
Partitive pronoun ne
Prepositions
Conversation activities

Situations:
a) Arrival in Italy
b) Hobbies and sports
c) Describing everyday activities
d) Trades and professions
e) Trips, vacations, visits
f) Italian cooking
g) Education in Italy
h) Shopping

Excerpts from newspapers and magazines, listening compehension, summarizing stories,dictation.
Have a semester jewellery design course abroad: in Italy